What to do with the extra hour or two?

So what exactly should a women do with the extra hour or two she finds in her life due to waking at 5:30 - 6:00 a.m. every morning whether she wants to or not? And what's up with that anyway? Women and their sleep issues. When we are teens we want to sleep in but can't because there is a mother lurking somewhere that is yelling, "Get up! Are you going to sleep your entire life away?". When we are in university and we want to sleep there is a paper, or an exam, or a part time job that eats away at every weekend morning. Then we hit the years of baby bearing and we can just well forget it as there is just no sleep anytime, anywhere! Well, maybe when we are standing in line at the bank, or at the motor vehicle department, or perhaps as we walk the grocery cart around the grocery store. Now I think I know how that $12.99 frozen dinner got in my cart! Then when the kids grow up every single weekend morning is eaten up by sports tournaments, dance practices, community volunteer work, and the husband who wants a little sumpin, sumpin, in the early morning hours before all hell breaks lose. Then you find yourself empty nested, and you get all excited because your time is your own and you just can't wait to sleep in. However you're now 12 year old dogs have aged bladders and they demand that you let them out for an early morning pee, now or you will be truly sorry.  Eventually you get the dog's pee schedule re-adjusted by staying up until midnight to let them out for that one last pee.  You are feeling that finally the magic of dreamland between 4:00 and 8:00 a.m. is soon to be yours, because all demands are now gone, your life is yours to do with as you wish, hubby is content, and you've have no early morning demands; guess what happens? YOU START MENOPAUSE! And no matter what you try, how late you stay up, how exhausted you are, the eyelids just simply pop open and the sleep gene malfunctions and you find yourself awake. No matter how hard you try to go back to sleep, it just ain't happening and you finally give in and learn to love the silence of the 5:00 - 8:00 a.m. zone.

So now, the question becomes what to do with that extra hour or two.

Shall I lay here and think,
Hoping that I just might sink,
back into the land of sweet dreams.

Should I turn on the light,
Crack open the book to right?
Hoping to get lost in the latest great theme.

Should I put on my clothes?
What to wear heaven knows.
Hoping today I won't burst through the seams!

Shall I wander downstairs
and put my but in the chair?
Attempting to write another blog stream.

Should I clean up the kitchen,
as last night there was no ambition.
Try to make it sparkle like a bright sunny beam.

Shall I do some exercise,
As I know it would be wise?
As I wish to stay limber and lean.

Or perhaps I will simply remain
horizontally going insane
trying to capture that unattainable dream.

For it seems that to sleep to my hearts content
Forever will be my relent.
So into the day I shall go full steam!

(Okay so I certainly did not inherit my sisters art for rhyming, but ya gotta give me points for trying lol.)

So had a wonderful moment last night. After a long day of cleaning and putting up all of the Christmas decorations, I sat in my chair and took a walk down memory lane. I was searching through all of boxes and enjoying all of the treasures accumulated over the years; gifts from kids, special pieces bought to share joy with the little people in my life, homemade christmas tree ornaments, and stuff you know you should have thrown aways years ago, but you couldn't. I savoured the wonderful feeling of anticipation for the night my girls will come home and we will once again traipse around Truro hunting down the perfect tree, enjoying some hot chocolate, driving around to see the christmas lights and then home to decorate the tree. Now don't get me wrong some years there were some rocky points, it wasn't always christmas card perfection. But I would not change a single thing. These memories are so precious to me. I love my house all decorated for Christmas. I love laying out the manager scene, hanging the stockings, and placing the beautiful snow globes around the house. Then to top off the evening I went to enjoy the Truro Dance Academy Christmas Spectacular. What a show with such amazing talent in the director, the youth who sang and danced and acted their way through this wonder-filled christmas story. Ahhhhh, all in all an awe-filled day!

So I discovered another new artist this week, shared by a friend on Facebook: Rodriquez, a new documentary about the life of this mysterious artist from the USA  has been nominated for an Academy Award this year. Rodriquez was from the USA but famous more so in Africa. Thanks to my friend Nodi from Africa for sharing the link. Very interesting story attached to this artist. Search you tube for songs. I think you will enjoy.

So the virtue for this week upcoming will be: 

I think I could write a month's work of blogs on this beauty. And oh the closing affirmation! If only we all could find more patience within ourselves; children, parents, friends, lovers, rulers, decision makers, each and everyone. I know for sure that more patience from humanity would mean less wars, less frustration, less anger, less consequences of rash decisions, less debt in the world, and more understanding, just to mention a few benefits.

It will be interesting to watch and see where I will called to patience this next week, where I will see that it is needed in the world around me, and where I will see it being practiced so I can have the opportunity to acknowledge it. I know for me being patient to put up my Christmas tree will be hard, but I also know that the joy I will feel in having my time with my family to do it will allow me to live fully in the moment of the night to come. Surprisingly being patient also allows me to let go of past frustrations about having to wait, and it enables me to live fully in the present moment of enjoying the walk down memory lane mentioned above.

 If only people would/could accept things that they cannot change with humour and grace. This is so one of my favourite qualities of my husband. I don't know how many times in our 30 plus years together his patience has enabled us to live, love, and laugh our way through challenging times.

This past fall I lost my full time job very unexpectedly and had to learn a whole new kind of patience as  I searched for work, waiting weeks to hear back from potential employers, and balancing the worry, wonder, and anticipation of it all. When I did call on that patience it really did help me to be fully present to the moments of my life, and keep my peace.

I had a really funny thought about an invention I would love to be able to make. I was sending my pictures of my doggies with their Xmas sweaters to my daughters. I love how my dogs can send love and comforting vibes across the miles to my girls. I would love to be able to temporarily teleport them to their homes. There is nothing like the comfort of your dog, when your day is not going well. Come to think of it, teleporting would be so awesome for everything. To be able to be right where we need/want to be right in that moment. Wow. Obviously it would need a door bell system, for advance notice and an approval system by the person you are wanting to visit. LOL.

I have been having fun finding and sending off the weekly care packages to my girls as well. So far they have received a Hobbit Writing Pen, a pair of Snowman earrings, a Christmas Advent Calendar, and fridge magnet. So much fun, can't wait to go shopping to select the next few weeks.

Sent my mommy  her first  card of thanks. She called and actually said, "Don't know what I did to deserve that?" Can you imagine! Such humbleness. What a beautiful women my mother is. I hope she truly knows how she has touched the hearts of so many, and planted the seeds of love, life and joy in her children. I love my mother so much, and I am so looking forward to sending her something each week to let her know just how much.

On my throw away list, I did find some stuff in those christmas decoration boxes that I intend to donate to a local charity for their yard sale tables. Out with old and in with new... well not quite. I was a very good girl this year at the Christmas sales and I kept my commitment to not bring home any new decorations this year. Loving the commitment to simplicity rule these days.

So I want to talk a little bit about the 50 Fab Adventure - 50 reasons I love myself. I wondered if I should have this on my list. I found myself wondering if others would think it was ego driven, or kind of weird that someone would put that on a list that would be blogged about publicly. I have to confess it has been a bit of struggle to find the courage to identify these things and write about it. I do consider myself to be a women who love herself. If you asked me that as a question I would definitely have answered yes. But when it comes to actually answering what it is you love about yourself, then it becomes very personal, and very challenging. Once you get past the superficial items like, "I am a nice person." "I am a kind person" (not that these are not important qualities) then you have to actually identify behaviour you do that makes you that. So to write about that in a public forum is a bit uncomfortable and for me scary. Learning about what it means to really love yourself, involves looking deep inside, and being able to express the character you see and to believe that you truly have that virtue and that you love yourself for it and are grateful for it.  So this part of the blog is going to be interesting for me, challenging for me, and yet also a practice that helps me to achieve yet another item on my list; 50 things that scare me! I would really encourage each of you that read my blog, to take on this practice as well. As women (which I assume many of you are) we often depend on others to reflect what is good about us. It is time for us to stand up and love ourselves! Each and everyone of us, makes a huge difference in this world, and there is only one of each of us, so special, so unique, and so beautiful. Own it Girlfriends!

So for this week the thing that I truly love about myself is my tolerance. I really believe that I have grown so much with this virtue. Now reaching fifty I find myself tolerant of so many things that used to drive me to the edge. My tolerance has enabled me to be free from judgement, which serves no purpose in this life. It allows me to appreciate the great diversity of the human spirit and the world we live in. It helps me to have patience and to be forgiving when it is required. It enables me to accept those things that I cannot change in my life with grace and humour. It helps me to embrace the pain as well as the joy in my life. "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." Carl Jung.  I am thankful for the gift of tolerance it broadens my horizons.

Well until we meet again ... oh and by the way, I have figured out what to do with that hour or two. Spend it blogging my friends with you!!!